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Trying a different angle with meeting people.
Are there any well-known sites that pair you up with an international person coming to your country to live/work there, or some other expat tier meetup?
I don't want sites like Contiki for party/drinking/drug nonsense or anything strictly for dating/hookups, let alone anything that only boomers use. It's more to meet someone in/finishing university and help them find their way around your city, lifestyle, etc and potentially go from there.
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>>34598966
Most are probably country specific sites
You can try looking if you have a language café/bar in your city, it'll be full of foreigners trying to improve their skills and they usually do events so you don't have to awkwardly approach people out of nowhere
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>>34599251
Thanks this is a good idea; in researching some local language exchange bar options I found one worthwhile.
Now this is Australian only, but the above research helped me come across something called Hilltops.
The concept is that unlike a regular meetup site, you've got a list of events in your area, and you pick one. For solo chickens like me:
>See who else is going to an event before you arrive. Join a Room, say hi, and show up already knowing someone.
>Instead of "approaching a stranger," you're meeting someone you've already talked to.
>The group stays active. You can keep chatting, plan the next event together, or branch off into direct messages. The context continues.
>Meeting people at events gets easier when you reframe what you're doing. You're not "networking." You're not "making friends." You're just being present at something you both chose to attend.
I like some of the writing in their site's guides, just some TLDRs from them (some clearly AIslop):
>Yes, there's a moment of awkwardness when you first arrive somewhere alone. It lasts about 30 seconds. Then you realise nobody else cares or even notices.
>Arrive with a purpose. Get a drink, find a good spot, check out the venue. Having something to do makes the first few minutes easier.
>Know that others are doing this too. Look around. There are more solo people than you think.
>Going to events alone isn't settling for less. It's choosing to actually experience things rather than waiting for the perfect conditions that never come.
>"We should catch up soon" means nothing. "Dinner on the 15th, 7pm, that Italian place" means something.
>Sociologists talk about "third places" - somewhere that isn't home or work where you can exist in public and encounter others. Find yours and become a regular. Even if you never speak to anyone, being recognised and nodded at makes a place feel more like home.
>Something's happening out there. You should probably go.
Keen to hear recs of global platforms